"If I’m playing on a top line and I get a lot of time on the power play, I’m supposed to get goals and get assists." -- Johan Franzen

The Red Wings' Gustav Nyquist (center) is congratulated by Jonathan Ericsson (left) and Danny DeKeyser after scoring in overtime at Montreal.The Associated Press

MONTREAL – The Detroit Red Wings can’t replace everything Henrik Zetterberg provides. But a healthy, driven Johan Franzen can compensate for much of the offense that has been lost due to the captain’s back injury.

“I felt good,” Franzen said. “Everyone except Olympic guys (had) a break, so this is a good time to come back. It doesn’t show that I missed those weeks. It gave me a little more of a fair fight.”

Franzen missed 22 of the previous 23 games with a concussion.

“You get a little worried,” Franzen said. “You try to get back and you start feeling bad again. I never had that before, so of course it got me worried. But today it felt good and it’s good to be back. I missed playing hockey.”

The Red Wings missed his scoring ability. Before Franzen was idled by a seemingly harmless hit to the face from Tampa Bay’s Radko Gudas he has on a point-a-game pace (seven goals, 17 points in 17 games).

“The Mule’s got to feel good,” coach Mike Babcock said. “He’s played one game (in the past 2½ months); that’s a long time off.

“Mule’s a real high-end player. It’s going to take him some time to get to that tempo he’s capable of playing at so we can play him the minutes he’d like.”

Franzen, wearing an “A” as alternate captain, played on a line with Pavel Datsyuk and Todd Bertuzzi, a pair of players who also haven’t played much the past month or so. Datsyuk missed 14 games from Jan. 4 to Feb. 3 with a knee injury and Bertuzzi was a healthy scratch in the final eight games before the Olympic break.

Franzen set up Bertuzzi for a power-play goal at 14:01 of the first period. He got his stick on a shot by Danny DeKeyser to redirect the puck to Gustav Nyquist for the overtime goal with 27.1 seconds remaining.

Said goaltender Jimmy Howard: “I thought he was great for us, made some great plays along the wall, using his big body out there to create a couple of opportunities. We’re going to need that out of him.”

Franzen, who got off to a slow start, has nine goals and 25 points in 32 games.

“I can’t beat myself up if I don’t produce every night,” Franzen said. “But if I’m playing on a top line and I get a lot of time on the power play, I’m supposed to get goals and get assists. I’m going to do my best to do that.”